Stripped Down To The Bone
by pleasant-hell
Summary: Santana and Mike are acting weird and won't talk about it. Everyone starts to get suspicious before things start to unravel.


"Where's Santana?" Mercedes asked, sitting in the back row of the glee club, "This is the second practice in a row she's missed."

"We really need her around if we're going to advance past regionals," Rachel stated, her eyes drifting to Brittany.

The blonde sighed, "Just lay off guys."

"While I understand that she's been having a hard time since coming out," Kurt explained, "Glee club is a safe place. It doesn't make sense for her to avoid us."

"Guys," Mike sighed, "Just lay off."

Mr. Schue crossed his arms and zeroed in on Mike, "Is she okay? Is she at a funeral?"

"She has been acting kinda weird," Sam nodded. "I mean, judging from before I left to since I've been back. She's been acting…different."

"She's fine," Mike shook his head and ran his hand over his hair that was missing it's usual sculpting wax. "She just has somewhere else to be." Tina gave him a sympathetic pat on the leg and leaned into him.

"If we're going to win at regionals, she needs to be here. This is a priority if she's not mourning the loss of a loved one or deathly ill," Rachel stated.

Brittany, who had been zoned out during most of the conversation, took a deep breath. "Leave her alone. She's doing her best."

"She's doing her best at what?" Quinn asked, leaning forward to see Brittany around Artie.

Brittany's eye flickered to Mike before she looked down at her hands that were resting on top of her crossed legs. "I dunno."

"Is she in some kind of trouble?" Mr. Schue asked, genuinely concerned.

"Can we just practice?" Mike snapped. Everyone's eyes shot to the normally docile and sage dancer. He rubbed his eyes and sighed, "I'm sorry, I'm just tired. We can practice two of the numbers without her right?"

"Are we not doing holiday songs this year?" Puck asked. "It's like three weeks until Christmas break and we haven't even talked about it. I totally found a rockin' Hanukkah song that I wanted to sing to bring out everyone's inner Jew."

"I didn't know if you guys wanted to still sing holiday music after what happened last year," Mr. Schue shrugged.

When practice was over, Brittany, Tina, and Mike were the first ones out of the room. Rachel grabbed Quinn's arm as she put her purse over her shoulder. She looked questioningly at the shorter girl, trying not to berate her for physical contact. "I know you're noticing what's happening."

"To who?" Quinn asked, watching the rest of the club file out the door with the exception of Puck and Finn who lingered by the door, waiting for them.

"Santana. And Mike and Tina for that matter," Rachel said quietly. "And Brittany."  
>"Yeah," Quinn nodded, starting to walk for the door, "Everyone has noticed. They're all acting weird."<p>

"I think they're starting another group…again," Rachel added, following on Quinn's heels.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "You're insane. Even if they did, it's too late for them to qualify for anything."

Rachel thought it over and saw that Quinn did have a point. "Well, it's weird. Whatever is going on is hurting the team, _our_ team and it's hurting our chances of making it all the way to Nationals and winning. I know you want to win, as much as I do. This is our shot and we need Santana and Mike and Brittany and Tina all here to do it."

The blonde bit her lip as they neared the boys. "Well, what do you suppose we do?"

"Well, we need to know what they're doing to formulate a game plan," Rachel stated.

"I'm with my Jew," Puck said to Quinn, "Something's up. Santana's getting skinnier and Mike always looks super tired. Something's wrong, and we need to help or something. We're a family."

Quinn thought it all over, letting it mull around in her head for a moment before she nodded, "Alright, so you guys want to stalk them or something?"

Rachel nodded and walked past everyone out the door, "If we hurry, maybe we can tail them."

Quinn looked at Finn with a quirked eyebrow. He shrugged and followed Rachel. Quinn sighed heavily, wondering what she had gotten herself into and walked after them with Puck right behind her.

They caught Tina and Brittany standing outside of Tina's car, watching Mike's truck drive off down the street. They exchanged a few words while leaning on the back of Tina's car, none of which the spies could hear because they were all crouched behind Quinn's car. Then Brittany and Tina got into the car.

The 'spies' all scrambled to get into Quinn's car and followed Tina's car, as inconspicuously as possible, all the way to the mall where the unlikely duo hurried inside against the freezing wind.

"Do you really think that we're going to be able to follow them around without them seeing us?" Quinn asked, gesturing to the two boys following her and Rachel inside.

Rachel looked back at the boys. "Why don't you two go and get something to eat? We'll call you if we find anything out." As usual, Finn followed orders and Puck followed Finn.

It took Quinn and Rachel a minute to actually find the unlikely duo. They were walking around the racks of clothes in a department store off the main entrance. Quinn and Rachel split up so they could look around without getting caught.

Quinn managed to get the closest, which was within earshot.

"…I just feel like I have to get Santana something super special for Christmas," Brittany told Tina as she picked up a top and looked it over before replacing it.

Tina sighed, "Yeah, me too. I was thinking about getting some lights to put up. You know, add some holiday cheer? Maybe a tree."

Brittany smiled, "That sounds awesome. Where do we get that stuff?"

"We could probably find it here," Tina answered. "What do you think you'll get Santana?"

They went on talking about what to get their significant others for Christmas through the next three stores. They also talked about how something was so sad and how they were worried.

"It's bad," Rachel told the boys when she and Quinn had finally lost the two girls. "Whatever is happening is bad. We need to confront them. We need to find out what's really wrong so we can help them."

"It seems like they don't want our help," Puck stated, leaning forward on the table, his arms circled around his nachos. "I mean, they would have said something if they did."

"And sometimes people don't know what they need until they're in dire need, and we don't want them to be in dire need," Rachel stated, challenging him across the table. "We have to find out more. Why would Mike and Santana be in trouble anyway? Especially together."

"They're complete opposites," Quinn added, "They weren't ever really friends."

There was complete silence at the table for a few seconds before Rachel fell back in her chair, "We need more intel."

So for the next week, the foursome followed Santana, Mike, Brittany or Tina around and listened to them, asking questions and trying to get some kind of lead, but none of them came up with anything.

During the next glee meeting, Santana showed up and sat between Mike and Brittany, her chair centimeters away from both of their chairs. Her head was on Brittany's shoulder as she tapped away on her phone. Quinn looked down at the phone in Santana's hand, trying to get a clear look at the screen around Brittany's head. Finally, Santana sat up and showed the screen to Mike, giving Quinn the perfect view. The calculator app was opened up and the screen produced a number that was insignificant to Quinn, but she was sure meant something to them so she memorized it.

Mike put his arm around Santana and she leaned into him for a brief hug before falling back onto Brittany's shoulder.

Quinn shot a look at Rachel who was across the room. They both nodded, knowingly.  
>This time after glee, they followed Santana who left the school alone. They decided that having Finn and Puck with them was more of a handicap than an asset, so they went on without them, following Santana's car in and out of traffic.<p>

"Do you see where she went?" Rachel asked, looking through her windshield all around the road.

Quinn shook her head, giving up on looking for Santana's car and falling back into her seat. "We lost her."

"Crap," Rachel continued driving for a few minutes before stopping at a coffee shop, citing the need for caffeine to finish her homework when she got home. Quinn didn't seem to mind and followed Rachel into the small local shop.

"This is quaint," Rachel said looking around at the worn couches and tall bookshelves, "I usually don't venture this far into Lima Heights. The crime statistics alone are enough of a deterrent."

"Yeah, me either," Quinn answered, following Rachel to the counter. She peered behind it and saw that no one was there. Before she could call out for someone to help them, Rachel rang a little bell on the counter.

"Sorry about that-" The sentence was cut short and the barista stopped in the doorway that lead to the back office when she saw who was standing at the counter. She was holding her hair up in the ponytail behind her head with her hand, a hair tie poised in the other hand to take over.

"Santana?" Rachel asked, confused as to why Santana was donning a black polo with the name of the coffee shop embroidered on it.

"Fuck me," Santana huffed and walked the rest of the way to the counter, finishing putting her hair up. "What are you two doing here?" she demanded.  
>"We…got lost," Rachel very obviously fabricated a story.<p>

"Together? In the Heights?" Santana crossed her arms and stared daggers through both of them. "Cut the shit. I don't have time for it."

Quinn decided to really cut the crap and straight up ask, "You work here?"

"Yeah, so?" Santana asked combatively, leaning onto the counter between them. Her eyes scanned the near empty shop. There were a few college-aged people sitting around a coffee table at the far end of the shop.

"Why?" Quinn asked, trying to hold Santana's eyes.

Santana rolled her eyes and picked up a cup, marker poised to write on the side, "Why do people work? For money." She readjusted her hold on the pen and shifted her weight to her other foot, "What do you want to drink?"

Quinn wasn't about to let up when she was finally almost getting some answers, "Why do you need money? Your parents are loaded."

Santana's face grew hard and her eyes easily conveyed her fury, "Maybe I just want to. Now order or leave."

Rachel glanced up at Quinn who seemed too deep in her own thoughts to respond so she quickly added, "Just black coffee with a splash of rice milk."

That got Quinn moving and she ordered, "Vanilla Latte."

Santana started both of the drinks and peered around the espresso machine at them, "Can you guys not tell anyone about this?"

"Sure," Quinn nodded, taking a step to the side so that she could see Santana around the monstrosity of a machine, "but Santana, if you're in trouble... We can help."

Santana's eyes welled up with tears. She stopped what she was doing and wiped them away with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Santana-" Quinn started to reach across the counter to comfort Santana, but the stepped to the opposite counter, turning her back to them.

"Just don't okay? I don't need your pity or whatever. I'm fine." She put the lids on the drinks and shook her head. She turned back to them, her eyes free of tears and set their drinks on the counter.

"We didn't come find you to pity you for whatever reason." Rachel stated, picking up her coffee. "We came to remind you about the glee dinner we're having tomorrow night."

Santana blinked. Then she looked like she was trying to recall and when she couldn't, she shrugged, "Okay. Where is it again?"

"My house," Rachel smiled brightly and picked up a napkin and a pen out of the jar on the counter, "Here's my address in case you lost the invitation."

Santana looked lost, but went with it, "Uh okay thanks."

Rachel paid for the drinks and left with Quinn. The blonde looked at Rachel when they were finally back in her car, "Why did you just make up a glee dinner party?"

"It's obvious Santana hasn't been eating well," Rachel stated, placing her coffee in the cup holder, "This way we can make sure she eats and maybe get a little information out of her."

"That's…" Quinn trailed off, a little surprised at Rachel's explanation, "That's really nice Rachel."

Rachel smiled, "We're a family. We have to stick together."

Rachel dropped Quinn off at her house before driving home. Then she called all the people in the glee club to invite them over for the dinner party. She figured that most of them would make up some kind of excuse as to why they couldn't go, which was fine with her. She only really needed Santana to show up.

She purposely over ordered the food from Breadstix the next night and it took her and Finn both to carry all the food to her car.

"You do know there's only like ten of us right?" Finn asked, as they set it all out on her dining room table.

Rachel just shrugged, "Well, I just wanted to make sure that I got enough for everyone."

Quinn showed up first, bringing some desserts that her mom had made. Sam brought drinks. Mike, Tina, Brittany, Santana, and Rory all showed up together.

"How many people are coming?" Rory asked, looking at the spread across the table. "That's a lot of food."

"Just us," Rachel smiled and shrugged.

"Mercedes is on her way," Sam looked at the screen of his phone before he put it in his pocket.

"So," Tina asked, "What was the point in all of this?"

Rachel moved around the table to set the plates down at one end, not coincidentally right in front of Santana. "I feel like we've been growing apart over these last few weeks and we need to be cohesive in time for regionals. We're just going to hang out and have a good time. Dig in."

Everyone ate and watched TV or just talked to their friends. Rachel and Quinn kept a close eye on Santana who was attached to either Brittany or Mike's side the entire time. Rachel kept wondering about Santana and Mike's newfound friendship. They seemed like such unlikely friends.

Mike was the first one to leave citing that he had a lot of work to do. Tina left with him and soon everyone started to trickle out. As Santana walked out, Rachel shoved an entire lasagna into her arms with a box of breadsticks on top of it.

"What's this for?" Santana asked, glancing at Brittany. The blonde just shrugged.

Rachel grinned, "I know we haven't been the best of friends, but I would like to make it up to you by giving you the only thing I really know you like besides Brittany. Breadsticks."

"What about the lasagna?" Santana quirks an eyebrow.

"There's a lot of food leftover that's not vegan," Rachel shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't want it to go to waste."

"Oh," Santana still looked a tad confused before adding, "Thanks then."

After everyone left, Rachel and Quinn cleaned up the mess. "You really didn't have to stay and help."  
>"Yeah, I did," Quinn stated, "Because I found out something." She walked over to the couch and picked up a Cheerio jacket. "It's Santana," she reached into the pocket and extracted a piece of paper handing it to Rachel.<br>Rachel opened it and found Santana's report card. "Santana has all 'A's? Somehow I didn't think that was the case. Mostly because she's always filing her nails in our English class."  
>"Not that," Quinn rolled her eyes and pointed to the print at the top, "Look at the address."<br>Rachel frowned and looked over it. She tilted her head to the side, "This isn't her address. She lives like two streets that way." Rachel pointed behind her.  
>"I know," Quinn nodded and presented her phone to Rachel, "Look, this is where that address is."<br>"That's in Lima Heights," Rachel frowned even deeper. Lima Heights was one of the low income neighborhoods in Lima which was ironically situated next to the Lima Heights Adjacent, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods.

Quinn walked back to the couch and picked up her own coat, shrugging it on.

"Where are you going?" Rachel asked.

The blonde took the jacket from Rachel, "We have to check this out."

Rachel grabbed her coat and followed Quinn out the door. They followed Quinn's GPS through the ghetto (or as ghetto as Lima got) to a dilapidated apartment complex. It only consisted of two buildings, one on each side of the parking lot. Both buildings were a depressing shade of peeling gray paint.

Rachel stood a little closer to Quinn as they looked at the report card for the apartment number. Quinn led the way up some iron and concrete stairs up to the second floor and to one of the two doors on the second floor landing.

With a glance at Rachel, Quinn took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

There was a rustling on the other side before the door opened. Santana was standing there in a gray sweatpants and white thermal shirt. Her eyes grew wide when she saw them and she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"You forgot your coat. We got your address off of the report card in the pocket. I hope you don't mind," Rachel stated, offering the jacket to the other brunette.

"Of course I fucking mind," Santana snarled, snatching the jacket out of Rachel's hand. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

"Santana why are you having your report cards sent to a sketchy apartment in Lima Heights?" Quinn asked.

Santana was silent, and Rachel finally asked the question that she knew Quinn was really asking, "Santana, do you live here?"

Santana's eyes dropped to the ground and she nodded. She crossed her arms, holding her jacket against her.

"With your parents?" Rachel asked, softly, "Did they lose their jobs?"

Santana shook her head and took in a shaky breath, "After I told them about me and Brittany they... They kicked me out." Quinn and Rachel exchanged a shocked look before turning back to the girl in front of them. They stood outside in silence for a moment before Santana shivered.

"Why don't we go inside and talk?" Quinn offered, gesturing to the door.

Santana reluctantly nodded and opened the door. What was on the other side of the door shocked both girls.

It was just a small, square room with two doorways on the left side. There was a sheet stapled to the ceiling splitting the far half of the room. Each side was decorated entirely differently. One side housed a futon mattress covered in dark colored pillows and blankets. A laptop with a red cover sat in the middle of it. A cardboard box served as a nightstand where a cell phone lay charging next to a plastic cup.

On the other side, a twin spring mattress lay, it's sheets and pillows a soothing green. A small music dock lay next to the bed and a red gym bag lay at the foot of the bed.

"Why are there two beds?" Rachel's eyes grew wide, "Did Brittany get kicked out too?"

Santana shook her head and dropped her coat on a coffee table that sat awkwardly by itself between the door and the beds. There was a small Christmas tree next to it, sparsely decorated with a few boxes of Christmas lights sitting next to it.

The blonde seemed to know what was finally going on and asked, "It's Mike isn't it? He lives here with you?"

Santana looked completely defeated and nodded "But you can't tell anyone."

Rachel was just stunned, stuttering out, "Wha-what happened to Mike?"

"His dad kicked him out because he wanted to be a dancer and not a doctor," Santana's voice wavered, but she held up a defiant chin, not letting the tears best her.

"So you've been missing glee practice to work?" Rachel asked, suddenly so sorry that she was ever down on Santana about missing.

Quinn looked around the small apartment. "Do you need anything? My mom has kinda lost her mind since the divorce and is redecorating the whole house. You should probably come grab what you want before she has it all trashed and replaced with hideous, art deco meets Morocco bean bag chairs."

"Look, we're fine," Santana shook her head, "I don't want-"

Quinn cut her off, "It's not charity. My mom keeps trying to get me to teach her how to use Craigslist so she can give it all away anyway. I'm just giving you first dibs."

Santana bowed her head and let out a small smile. "Thanks, Quinn."

"You can come over tomorrow after work and take what you want," Quinn stated, "Then you can help me move my dad's old record player into my room."

"That thing is huge," Santana quirked an eyebrow.

Quinn smirked, "Well then you might want to bring Brittany to do the heavy lifting for you."

Santana rolled her eyes but smiled. It was a real smile, the first real one either girl had seen on her in a long time.

"We don't have much, but do you want some water or something?" Santana asked Quinn and Rachel.

They both nodded to accept the water and followed Santana through one of the doors off of the main room, into a tiny yet spotless kitchen. Rachel looked around and decided that it was about the size of her closet at home.

Santana got two of the very few cups they had out of the cabinet. As she filled them with water from a pitcher inside the refrigerator that was bare except for the lasagna that she took home form the dinner party, they heard the front door open. "Guess what I got," Mike's voice called as the door closed.

Santana handed off the glasses of water and stepped into the main room with Rachel and Quinn right behind her. Mike was taking off his jacket when he looked up and saw them. His jaw clenched before he asked, "What are they doing here?"

"They found us," Santana shrugged.

He sighed and picked up the plastic bag off of the coffee table and took it into the kitchen, "Great."

"We won't tell anyone." Quinn assured him when he stepped back into the main room. "We just want to help."

Mike stated, walking over to his side of the room and grabbed a sweatshirt off of the bed, pulling it over his t-shirt, "We're fine."

"You're fine, but you're not alone," Quinn added to him, "I've been here. I lived in Finn's house and I lived in Puck's basement. It's not easy to do it alone and you don't have to."

A silence fell over the group, Santana had her arms crossed in front of herself, staring hard at the ground. Mike kept looking between the three girls while Quinn and Rachel were still just absorbing everything.

"It's freezing in here," Rachel finally broke the silence. "I have a space heater at home that looks like a real fire. I don't use it anymore because it doesn't match the theme of my room. You're both more than welcome to it."

Santana looked at Mike who looked back. They silently conferred and then Mike nodded, "Thanks."

Rachel took Mike with her to go get the heater, and Quinn stayed with Santana. They both sat on her bed, awkwardly staring at the sheets.

Quinn finally took a deep breath and spoke. "You know, I don't think I'd ever be able to do what you did. You and Mike are the bravest people I know. You both stood up for what you believe in and what you feel."

"And it only cost me everything," Santana sighed, leaning back against the wall behind her bed.

"It didn't cost you everything," Quinn shook her head. "I know it doesn't seem like much now, but you still have so much. You have Brittany and you have us. Not just the glee club. You have friends. _Real_ friends. This kind of thing shows you who your real friends are. If we would have known-"

"Everyone would feel sorry for me and Mike," Santana shook her head. "We don't want that. What happened to us sucked, but….we're still the same people we were. We just have jobs now and live in a shitty apartment. We did this to ourselves."

"No you didn't," Quinn shook her head.

"We kinda did. My parents told me that if I never saw Brittany again and told them I was straight that I could stay," Santana had tears welling up in her eyes, "But I couldn't do it. And Mike's dad told him that if he went to med school that he could stay, but that's not him…we could have lied to keep our lives the same, but we didn't. So we did it to ourselves."

"And I got pregnant so it's my fault that my dad kicked me out," Quinn nodded, "I get it. But you two are doing something I couldn't. You're standing on your own. This apartment is small, but it's yours. You made a life for yourself. You didn't drop out of school or anything."

Santana smiled wistfully down at her hands. "I was totally going to, but Brittany wouldn't let me."

Quinn reached her arms behind Santana and pulled the other girl in for a hug, "I'm really proud of you Santana."

Santana sniffled against Quinn's shoulder and took a minute to compose herself before pulling away. "Thanks Q."

"So," Quinn looked around, "What's Mike like as a roommate?"

"He's great actually," Santana smiled, "He does his own dishes and his laundry stays on his side of the room. He doesn't snore." She stood up on the mattress and moved her laptop to the cardboard box that was her acting nightstand. "If I was going to be kicked out at the same time as anyone and forced to move in with them, I'd pick Mike every time."

"What about Brittany?" Quinn asked, getting up to follow Santana into the kitchen.

Santana shook her head and got down a cup, "I'd never want her to be kicked out. She loves her family too much."

"You were kicked out at the same time?" Quinn asked, leaning back on the counter. Santana opened the refrigerator and got out the water, filling her cup before replacing it.

Santana leaned back on the opposite counter, "Well, I got kicked out first." She paused to sip her water. "I stayed with Brittany for a few nights before her parents caught on and then a few more days after that. But there isn't enough room with Rory and Brittany's sister. So one night Brittany and I were walking around and ran into Mike. He was sitting on the curb a few streets away from Brittany's house. We all talked for a few hours and thought up a game plan. Two days later, we got this apartment and here I am now - going to school, working two jobs, and singing in glee club."

"Two jobs?" Quinn asked, leaning back on the counter.

Santana nodded and opened up the bag on the counter that Mike left. She let out a smile and pulled out a box of cereal. "He got my favorite cereal."

"That's sweet," Quinn smiled back.

Santana put the cereal up in the cabinet and closed it up. "Name brands aren't really something we can do anymore so that was a splurge." She took a deep breath. "Anyway, I work at the coffee shop and I work at a bar on the weekends. It's under the table."

"They know you're seventeen, right?" Quinn tilted her head to the side, crossing her arms and rubbing her upper arms without really thinking about it.

"Yeah, but I have low-cut tops and an awesome rack," Santana shrugged. "C'mon, I'll get you a jacket. It gets chilly in here at night."

The blonde followed her to the main room. "How do you stand it?"

Santana opened the other door on the left wall and opened what sounded like another cabinet. She returned with a Cheerio sweatshirt. "It hasn't gotten really cold yet, except for last weekend, and I just wore a lot of layers one night and Brittany spent the night the other night."

"How does that work?" Quinn asked, pulling the sweatshirt on, "Do people actually do the sock on the doorknob thing?"

Santana laughed and flopped down on the bed. "No. So far only one of us has gotten some in this apartment and it hasn't been me. He just texted me and I was at work until two anyway so I wasn't home until Tina was gone anyway."

Quinn was about to ask another question when the front door opened. Mike walked in with a three foot tall space heater in his arms. The front of it was a glass door that protected the fake plastic logs. He set it down right next to the tiny Christmas tree and plugged it in. Rachel walked in behind him with a bag in her hand. She set it down on Mike's bed and helped Mike turn on the heater. Soft orange and yellow lights rolled behind the fake logs, making a fairly realistic looking fire. She placed her hand closer to the bottom and nodded in satisfaction when she felt the heat starting to pour out.

Rachel and Quinn didn't stay long after that. They gave Mike and Santana each a hug before making their way out of the apartment.

The next morning, Mike's alarm went off at six-thirty and Santana's followed thirty seconds later. Santana groaned, and Mike shut off his alarm. Santana shut hers down a few seconds later, after blindly reaching for it with her eyes closed.

"Mmm, it's warm in here. I have no reason to go to school," Santana mumbled against her pillow.

Mike chuckled on his side of the curtain. "There are other reasons to go to school."

"Like what?" Santana stretched under her covers and looked around her bed for her sweatpants.

There was a pause before Mike answered, "We have to do it if we're going to get into college anywhere."

"Damn it," Santana huffed grabbing her sweatpants and putting them on under the blanket. She rolled out of bed and stood up, shivering the second her feet touched the cold ground. "I miss carpet," she mumbled on the way to the bathroom.

It didn't take Mike much time to get ready after Santana got out of the bathroom, and then he stepped out of the bathroom and stepped into the kitchen. Santana handed him a bowl of cereal. She was reading a book for school as she ate. Mike heard his phone ring and trotted to his bed.

As she was reading, Santana heard a knock on the door. She smiled and put her empty bowl in the sink before making her way to the front door. When she opened the door, she was greeted with a smiling blonde, holding a travel mug in one hand and a pair of boots in the other. She immediately reached for the travel mug, but Brittany pulled it out of reach. Santana smiled wider and hooked one hand around Brittany's waist and the other on the back of Brittany's neck, pulling their bodies flush against each other, allowing their lips to crash together.

Brittany giggled as she felt the travel mug being lifted out of her hand. She nipped at Santana's lower lip and kept the shorter girl against her.

"You're letting the cold air in," Mike called teasingly.

They finally broke away, huge smiles on both of their faces. Santana stepped inside and closed the door when Brittany was all the way in. Brittany looked at the heater on the ground and watched the fake fire dance for a little bit. "That's so cool."

"Rachel gave it to us," Mike mentioned.

Brittany looked up at Santana with a worried expression. Santana just shrugged, "I left my jacket at her house and she saw the address on my report card. She and Quinn came over last night. They know, but they're not going to tell."

"Awesome," Brittany grinned, pulling the hat off of her head and putting it on Santana's head. She grabbed onto the tassels hanging on either side of her girlfriend's face. She used them to guide Santana's lips to her own. "Guess who gets to spend the weekend here."

"I guess that means I have to find somewhere else to be," Mike stood up and grabbed his backpack from next to his bed.

Santana nodded, not letting her lips leave Brittany's.

Mike walked out the door, calling over his shoulder, "Later."

Brittany handed over the boots in her hand, and Santana sat on the coffee table next to the Christmas tree to pull them on, handing her coffee over to Brittany. Brittany tilted her head to the side, "Thanks for letting me borrow those."

Santana ran her hand up her girlfriend's thigh and stopped when her hand got to Brittany's waist. The blonde bent down and kissed her sweetly. Santana smiled, "Anytime babe."

"What time do you get off of work today?" Brittany asked, taking a sip of Santana's coffee she was holding.

"I'm going to the bar so two o'clock," Santana stood up. "I need to swing by Quinn's house sometime this weekend so I can grab some chairs or something. But tomorrow," she smirked and plucked the coffee mug out of Brittany's hand, "I have the night off so we can do whatever you want."

"Do you need a ride to work tonight?" Brittan asked, "My mom just filled up my car."

"Are you going to be up late enough to pick me up?" Santana asked. "We have rehearsal after school."

"Yeah," Brittany nodded, "I'll just crash here until it's time to pick you up."

Santana nodded. She was relieved that she was going to get a ride because there was almost no gas in her car. She tried to figure out how much money she'd have for gas next week and then remembered that the electric bill was due next week as well. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"What's wrong?" Brittany slid up next to Santana.

Santana shook her head, "Just stuff. It's not a big deal."

"We only have like six more months right?" Brittany smiled hoping to elicit one from Santana, "Then we'll live together in LA and I'll dance and you'll sing and we'll be together."

"Six months," Santana smiled. No offense to Mike, but living with Brittany in LA would beat the hell out of her current situation. She kissed Brittany again and smoothed out her girlfriend's hair, "Ready for school?"

"Yes," Brittany grinned and followed Santana out the door.

School went by quickly for Santana who filled up her rare downtime with calculating her bills in her head. She was trying to figure out a way to make up the money that she was going to miss when they went to regionals. After school, she went back to her apartment with Brittany where they both took a short nap.

Brittany dropped Santana off at work with a kiss and wave. Santana readjusted her tight, low-cut top. She took a deep breath and walked into the bar, ready to work it.

"I'll have a beer," a man said.

"What kind?" Santana asked, then leaned on the bar, her eyes finally making her way to him. Her eyes widened when she recognized him.

"Whatever's on tap," Burt Hummel stated. "What are you doing here?"

Santana was silent, ignoring the question like she didn't know what he was talking about, and grabbed a mug. She filled it up with the beer and set it in front of him.

"Santana," he stated lifting the beer to his lips, "This is a bar and you're still in high school."

Santana leaned forward onto the counter and lowered her voice, "Look, I need this job. My parents kicked me out and I work at a coffee shop after school, but this is how I pay rent. Please don't turn me in."

She was on the edge of tears so Burt asked softly, "Your parents kicked you out? Is it because of that ad that asshole ran about you? The one against Sue?"

"Sorta," Santana shrugged, "I came out and they told me I could dump my girlfriend and stay with them or leave. So I left."

"That's brave," he nodded.

Santana shrugged, "I can't be someone I'm not anymore."

"So this pays your rent?" Burt asked, looking around the bar.

Santana followed his eyes and took in the dim bar. It wasn't much, but it worked for her. "Yeah."

"Well," he set down a twenty on the bar and stood up with his beer, "You promise me that if something happens and you need somewhere to stay, you'll come to my house? I've heard Kurt gives the best facials."

Santana chuckled, "I will. Thanks Mr. Hummel."

He nodded to her and walked back over to his friends.

After her shift was over, Santana stepped outside and saw Brittany in her car. When she got in, Brittany handed her a hamburger and a soda. "You didn't have to."

Brittany smiled, "I know." She leaned over and kissed Santana's cheek. She didn't explain that her mom gave her a bunch of money to make sure Santana ate well all weekend and well into the next week. She knew Santana wouldn't like it if she told her.

When they got back to the apartment, Mike was gone. He told Brittany he was spending the weekend at Sam's house so they could have some alone time.

When Santana went to turn on the light, Brittany stopped her. She flipped on the heater and pulled Santana to the bed. The fake fire lit up the apartment in a soft glow.

Santana pulled Brittany close in the cold apartment. She turned her head and buried her face in the pillow after catching a particular smell. Then she looked at Brittany, "You washed my sheets."

Brittany held Santana against her body, "And your clothes. You worry about a lot, San. I want to help."

The tears that pop up so unexpectedly lately made an appearance in Santana's eyes. She didn't wait for Brittany to start to console her. She dove right in, burying her face in Brittany's neck. Tears gathered in Brittany's eyes. It hurt her so much to see Santana like this. It actually took a few days for Santana to cry after her parents kicked her out.

Finally, one night, Brittany woke up to quiet sobbing in the bed next to her.

"I'm sorry," Brittany murmured over and over, adding that she loves Santana more than anything. Brittany couldn't help but feel like this was partially her fault. It didn't make sense for it to be her fault, but it sure felt like it.

Santana took a little over ten minutes to compose herself. She took a deep, unsteady breath. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, baby." Brittany softly kissed her.

Santana grabbed fistfuls of Brittany's shirt and pulled the blonde on top of her, kissing her hungrily. It wasn't a lust-filled kiss. Santana was trying to lose herself in the feeling of having Brittany in every way she could. When Brittany moved like she knew exactly what Santana needed, Santana knew that she _did _have Brittany in every way. She had Brittany's heart and mind and body. Their souls were connected from the second they met and only grew stronger and stronger as the years went by.

They made love in the light of the fake fire and fell asleep tangled together, under the mess of blankets.

Santana woke up to the smell of breakfast. It was a smell that was completely unfamiliar to her these past few weeks. If she ate it at all, it was cereal. Most of the time Brittany brought over coffee for her when she picked up her girlfriend to take her to school. She smiled when she could smell coffee in the midst of the hearty breakfast smell.

She pulled on a long sleeved shirt and her discarded panties before tiptoeing into the kitchen. Brittany was dressed in jeans and a blue top. Her cheeks were pink like she had just been outside.

The blonde smiled when she saw Santana, "Good morning."

Santana moved to Brittany and wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist. She could feel the chilly exterior of Brittany's clothing pressed against her. "Where'd you go?"

"My mom dropped off stuff to make breakfast," Brittany explained, "She told me to learn how to make migas from you so I could make them when I got home, but you didn't have anything to cook in." She held Santana against her by the shorter girl's shoulders. "So I went and got a pan, then decided that since it's your day off, you shouldn't have to cook. So I got breakfast tacos and coffee."

Santana tilted her head up and softly kissed the underside of Brittany's jaw, "Thanks, babe." She knew what was really going on. There were paper bags on the counter containing things that had nothing to do with migas or even breakfast.

Brittany picked up a coffee cup from a chain coffee shop, "French vanilla latte with an extra shot of espresso."

Santana took one heavenly drink of it and hummed. "You're the best girlfriend ever."  
>The blonde chuckled and rubbed Santana's back, "C'mon, let's eat breakfast and decide what to do today."<p>

They sat next to the tiny Christmas tree on the coffee table, eating their breakfast tacos and sipping their coffee. "What do you want to do today?" Brittany asked.

Truth be told, Santana wanted to just stay in bed all day with Brittany, but she knew the blonde wanted to go somewhere. When Brittany came over, they stayed in bed for the most part, cuddling and doing homework. So she was willing to go along with whatever Brittany wanted to do.

"I need your help Christmas shopping, but if you want to wait and do that next weekend when Mike is here, we can," she offered.

"You just want to go to the mall?" Santana asked.

Brittany nodded, taking a bite of her breakfast.

"Who do you have to buy for?"

"My sister, my parents, Rory, Charity, Lord Tubbington, and you. But I can't go shopping for you when you're with me," Brittany sipped her coffee and balled up the foil her breakfast taco came in, "I'll just take Quinn or Tina."

"Britt," Santana sighed, "I don't want you to get me anything this year."

"Why not?" the blonde tilted her head to the side, eyeing her girlfriend across the table.  
>Santana hung her head and mumbled, "I don't know if I'll be able to afford to get you anything."<p>

Brittany moved across the table and sat next to Santana, holding her girlfriend around her waist. "I don't want you to buy me anything."

"But - you can't get me anything," Santana leaned her head against Brittany's forehead.  
>She kissed Santana's temple. "I'm going to get you a present because you're going to give me a present." Santana started to speak, but when she saw Brittany, she saw that her girlfriend wasn't done. "What I want for Christmas," she paused, "is for you to spend Christmas Eve with me at my house. My mom already said it was okay."<p>

Santana took a deep breath, "How is that a present for you?"

"Because I already got what you're going to wear," Brittany let out a cheeky grin and kissed Santana's cheek.

They walked through the mall holding hands. Not only were their pinkies linked, but their entire hands were intertwined. Brittany wasn't afraid and Santana had nothing left to lose. At first it felt weird to Santana. It was their first real outing as a completely out couple. But as they hopped from store to store, she decided that she liked it. She didn't have to worry about who was looking because six months from now, the people in this town wouldn't matter anymore.

"What would Mike want for Christmas?" Brittany swung their hands between them as they walked.

Santana shrugged. Even though they were roommates she still didn't know much about him. He was a good guy. He did his own dishes and occasionally bought Santana her favorite cereal. In return, Santana brought him some things from the coffee shop and picked up things she knew he liked when she could.

Brittany's phone rang before they could discuss it further. She answered it with a quick, "Hey mom...mhmm...I'll ask her." Brittany looked at Santana, "My mom wants to know if you want to have dinner at my house tonight. We don't have to if you don't want to."  
>Santana kicked at the ground. She had been to a family dinner with the Pierces a few times since she got kicked out. She was still uncomfortable among the happy family. She always felt like she didn't belong. She swallowed and shook her head, "Not tonight Britt. You can go if you want though."<p>

"No, we're just going to hang out," Brittany told her mom, "Yeah...okay. Love you too. Bye." Brittany hung up her phone. "This is the first weekend I get you all to myself. I'm not going to leave you. I have dinner with my family all the time."

Santana forced a gulp of air down her throat and closed her eyes for a moment. She didn't want Brittany to feel like she couldn't talk about her family, but it hurt her every time someone mentioned that their family was happy and together - that they all loved each other and shit.

Brittany didn't say anything for a long time. She knew what she had inadvertently done. Once they hit one end of the mall and had to turn around she finally spoke, "I'm sorry."  
>The brunette knew exactly what Brittany was apologizing for. "No. I'm just...too sensitive. I'll get over it. We can go if you want."<p>

"I meant what I said. It's going to be you and me," Brittany smiled, leaning over and kissing the side of Santana's head. "Now, I need to find something for Mike."

After a few more hours of shopping, they decided to go home. Santana went into the kitchen to try and figure out something to make for dinner, but Brittany suggested that they order a pizza. Santana didn't like that Brittany was paying for everything, but it had been so long since she had eaten pizza. A real pizza and not the frozen kind that you buy at the grocery store for a dollar with the questionable meat toppings.

Of course Brittany sweet talks Santana into it and an hour later, they were watching a movie on Santana's laptop using the neighbor's wi-fi and eating pizza on her bed. The laptop was on the box by her bed and they were cuddled into each other. That's how they spent the rest of the weekend, wrapped up in each other and not worrying about what other people thought.

"Santana," Mr. Schue put his hand on his hips. He sighed and ran his hands over his face on Monday before asking, "Is she even awake?"

"Lay off Mr. Schue," Finn stated, "She's tired."

"We're all tired," Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"But she's," Blaine butted in, pausing for a moment, "She's obviously not feeling well."

Mr. Schue put his hands on his hips, "What's going on?"

"It's not our place to say," Kurt crossed his legs.

"What? You know?" Mike asked, slowly standing up.

Finn reluctantly nodded.

"Santana!" Mike barked, startling everyone in the room.

The girl in question jerked awake and blinked rapidly, lifting her head from Brittany's shoulder, "Huh?"

"You told them?" he demanded.

"Told who what?" She asked running her fingers through her hair, sitting up straight.  
>He clenched his fists, "You told them about us."<p>

She shook her head and her eyes darted around from face to face. "Who knows?"  
>"Finn, Kurt and Blaine," Mike gestured to the boys sitting in a group.<p>

Santana turned her gaze to Quinn and Rachel, "You _told_ them. I knew we shouldn't have trusted you."

"We-we didn't tell," Quinn answered for herself and Rachel. Rachel nodded vigorously next to Quinn.

"You knew?" Finn asked Rachel.

The brunette nodded, "But I promised not to tell."

"Wait, so Mike and Santana are together?" Sam asked. "I thought Santana was with Brittany and Mike was with Tina."

"We're not together," Mike and Santana said in unison.

"How do you know?" Mike asked Finn, Kurt and Blaine.

"Burt went out with his friends to a bar and Santana was working there," Finn explained.

Mercedes looked at Santana, "You have a job?"

"Two jobs," Brittany corrected.

"You work at a bar?" Puck asked, "Which one?"

"Why do you work at a bar?" Mr. Schue asked.

Santana had had enough of all the questions so she yelled, "My parents kicked me out okay?"

"What does that have to do with Mike?" Finn looked from Santana to Mike and back.  
>Mike sighed heavily, "My dad kicked me out too. Santana and I live together. We didn't want anyone to know because you'd all treat us differently."<p>

"Is it true?" Mr. Schue looked to Santana.

She nodded, "But we're fine. We pay all of our bills and we're saving up to leave Lima after we graduate. We don't need help or pity."

"When did this happen?" Mr. Schue asked.

"About six weeks ago," Mike stated. "Santana got kicked out a week before me."

Mr. Schue crossed his arms and shuffled his feet, "I wish you would have told me sooner."

Santana took a deep breath, "We didn't want to be treated any differently. We can take care of ourselves."

"I wasn't implying that," Mr. Schue shook his head.

Kurt tilted his head, "Are you still going to be competing with us at regionals?" Kurt asked, "Not to be insensitive, or anything. I understand if you have to work..."

Santana cut him off, "I've been working double shifts for the past week so I can take off the whole week before regionals." Santana stated, "I'm not quitting glee. Rachel was right when she told me that I need this right now. There will be scouts at regionals, and I'm going to work my ass off because Brittany is going to LA to dance and she's going to be amazing. And I'm going with her. If I could get a scholarship to UCLA that would be awesome and so much easier, but if not I'll do it myself. Because I'm going to _be_ something.

"Now," she paused to smirk, "I don't want anyone giving me a solo because my parents don't love me. I'm going to win the solos in a diva-off bloodbath because I'm a badass."  
>"Believe me," Rachel stated, placing a hand on Santana's shoulder, "There will be no mercy." She had a smile on her face directed at Santana which the taller girl reciprocated.<p>

Mr. Schue clapped his hands, "Well, let's get this show on the road."

Regionals went by with the New Directions advancing to Nationals again with Rachel, Santana, and Mercedes fronted vocals and another dynamite dance performance from Mike and Brittany. Christmas break fell over the school and everyone was off doing their own things. Santana and Mike were working as much as possible over the break to save money for the upcoming semester.

After a double shift at the bar, Santana was passed out on her bed, under a mass of blankets Brittany brought over because it was still getting really cold at night, even with the heater. Mike was asleep as well after working at a local cafe, waiting tables until two in the morning.

It was Christmas Eve and neither one of them really noticed it sneaking up on them. If it hadn't been for their girlfriends, neither one would know what day it way. Holidays didn't mean much to them anymore.

There was a knock on the door. Santana groaned, "No."

The knock sounded again.

"It's your turn," Mike stated.

"Fine," Santana grumbled hurrying to pull her Cheerios' hoodie on over her torso before it was met with the frigid air. She stood up, slipping on her wool lined boots and made her way to the door. She almost tripped over the meager stack of presents under their tiny Christmas tree.

She yanked it open and was about to tell off whoever was knocking until she saw it was Brittany and Tina. Santana took Brittany's hand and attempted to pull her inside, while Tina walked in past them .Brittany stood firm outside the doorway.

"C'mon Britt," Santana whined, "I wanna go to bed and I need you to keep me warm."

"No," Brittany just pulled Santana outside and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. "I have something to show you."

Santana rested her head on Brittany's shoulder, "so early?"

"Can't it wait?" Mike asked as Tina coaxed him out of the apartment as well.

Without question Mike and Santana followed Tina and Brittany down two flights of stairs. They stopped on a landing, one floor above the snow blanketed parking lot.

When they looked out in the middle of the lot they could see the New Directions huddled up together. Mr. Schue stood out in front and waved his hands in the air, starting the tempo. Everyone standing behind Rachel started a harmonious, "Oooooh." Rachel took a deep breath and started to sing.

_Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, _  
><em>Jack Frost nipping on your nose, <em>  
><em>Yuletide carols being sung by a choir, <em>  
><em>And folks dressed up like Eskimos. <em>

Quinn stepped forward and took over the lead.

_Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe, _  
><em>Help to make the season bright. <em>  
><em>Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow, <em>  
><em>Will find it hard to sleep tonight. <em>

Then Puck started singing with a smirk on his face. Not the pervy kind, but the kind when he really cares, but doesn't want to show it.

_They know that Santa's on his way; _  
><em>He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh. <em>  
><em>And every mother's child is going to spy, <em>  
><em>To see if reindeer really know how to fly<em>.

Rory sang the last verse while everyone else swayed and 'ooooh'ed and 'ahhh'ed behind him.

_And so I'm offering this simple phrase, _  
><em>To kids from one to ninety-two, <em>  
><em>Although its been said many times, many ways, <em>  
><em>A very Merry Christmas to you<em>

"Merry Christmas," Rachel smiled from the front of the group after the song ended.

"What is this for?" Mike asked, his hand holding Tina's at his side.

Tina smiled at him, giving him a peck on the cheek, "We're just spreading the Christmas cheer."

"C'mon," Brittany took Santana's hand and pulled her the rest of the way down the stairs.

"Merry Christmas S," Quinn was the first one to approach them and hugged Santana then Mike. Mercedes took her turn next and then Rachel, followed by the remaining members of the glee club.

Santana kept wiping away tears and Mike kept trying to blink them away.

"So," Rachel smiled, "In honor of all of us together for the first time since Christmas break started, I'd like to invite everyone over to my house for lunch and an early afternoon showing of Elf."

Everyone convened at Rachel's house, with the exception of Mr. Schue. They drank hot cocoa and ate all the latkes Rachel, Puck and her father could churn out of the kitchen.

Quinn hovered in the kitchen, continually asking if they had any bacon and why they didn't. Then she protested when Rachel offered her soy bacon and finally took the entire first plate to the corner of the kitchen to subtly hide it behind herself while it slowly disappeared.

Santana happily sat in the living room with everyone after they ate, watching Elf with everyone. She was leans against Brittany who was holding her with both arms. She looked across the room at Mike sitting in the armchair with Tina cuddled in his lap.

So maybe everything didn't turn out like she planned, but she had people around her that loved her and she knew were going to be there for her. And she had Brittany. She kissed Brittany's cheek and rested her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. She closed her eyes and smiled when Brittany kissed her head.

Yeah, she had Brittany and that made the Christmas a great one.


End file.
